The tumultuous life of Marilyn Monroe has been well documented, but a new book about the screen goddess again brings up rumors of her affairs with other women and even claims she worried she was lesbian.

Many previous biographers have speculated that Monroe may have had a relationship with acting coach Natasha Lytess. In an essay written for The Guardian to help promote her new book Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox, Lois W. Banner writes, "Yet she desired women, had affairs with them, and worried that she might be lesbian by nature." Also in the article Banner makes a case for Monroe, so often portrayed as a victim, as a proto-feminist.